ALAMOSA — By Wednesday night, this city’s entire municipal water system was set to be filled with highly chlorinated water in an attempt to kill the salmonella bacteria plaguing the community.
The 50-mile-long pipe system will then soak for an unspecified period in chlorinated water, according to Jim Shires, a spokesman for the team of municipal, county and state officials working on the flush.
That will leave about 10,000 people with water unfit for drinking or washing. It can be used to flush toilets.
The water contains 25 parts per million of chlorine. Drinking water is usually sanitized with about 1 part per million of chlorine.
“This is new territory,” said Gary Halbersleven, a state health-department technician working on the flush. “It’s sort of exciting.”
Crews will work in 12-hour shifts around the clock to track the spread of chlorine levels, said the state health department’s Gary Soldano.
The highly chlorinated water will be followed with a flush of water at 10 parts per million of chlorine.
Once the entire system is filled with the less-chlorinated water, the pipes will have to soak for 24 hours before being flushed with clean water, containing 1 to 2 parts per million of chlorine, Shires said.
There isn’t an estimate yet of when the water will be safe for drinking and cooking, he said.
Part of the problem, Shires explained, is that there are three types of pipes — iron, plastic and copper — in the system and they absorb chlorine at different rates.
About 250 residents have been treated for salmonella infection, 10 of whom were hospitalized. Salmonella can cause diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, dehydration and, in extreme cases, death.
One boy was flown to Children’s Hospital in Aurora, where he was treated for several days and released.
His father and mother, Raymond and Jennifer Cook, filed a notice of intent to sue the city for a minimum of $150,000 in damages.
City Attorney Erich Schwiesow said he hadn’t seen the notice of intent.
Medical personnel at the hospital identified the strain as Salmonella typhimurium — one frequently found in outbreaks.
Michelle Barron, an infectious-disease specialist with the University of Colorado, said the identification of the strain doesn’t help identify the source of the outbreak.
“Unfortunately, it could come from anywhere,” she said. “In general, we see it in eggs and uncooked poultry. Chickens harbor it.”
A Web posting by the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the department investigated three outbreaks of Salmonella typhimurium, which were traced to dairy farms.
Alamosa’s water comes from a deep aquifer that had been considered bacteria-free.
Jackie Flynn, 55, said two of her nine grandchildren had been very sick, including 2-month-old Julio and 2½- year-old Mariah.
Wednesday, Flynn spent time flying a kite with her grandson David Trujillo, 11, who, like all the other kids in Alamosa, was out of school.
“This is a really scary situation for everybody,” Flynn said. “I’m afraid to use the water for anything.
“They should have done something about our water a long time ago to make sure this didn’t happen,” she added.
Flynn bought solar showers for her family. For $9, she got a big plastic bag that can be hung up and showered under. They are designed to heat the water via the sun, but she’s been heating the water on the stove.
Roughly 10,000 gallons of clean water is being handed out by the city each day.
In addition to the city’s schools, many businesses have closed.
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
